Secrets
by alayneni
Summary: Oliver had many secrets, most of them he hoped to take to the grave with him. However, some of them were on full display on his body and anyone with the correct knowledge could decipher them.
1. The Article

**Secrets**

 **Summary:** Oliver had many secrets, most of them he hoped to take to the grave with him. However, some of them were on full display on his body and anyone with the correct knowledge could decipher them.

 **An:** I do not own Arrow. This is my third story about Susan Williams. Boy does that woman annoy me. Even Adrian Chase knows better than to talk to her! If you're interested in the other stories, they're called _Ire_ and _Truth Tea_.

* * *

The news headline was glaring at him. Oliver Queen, Mayor, Bratva Captain and Green Arrow. It was written by his now ex-girlfriend. It had been very difficult to read the article but he needed to know what exactly he was facing. He was surprised by how thorough the article was. She had to have been working on it for months, long before she met him. Which meant that when she started seeing him, her whole purpose was to get him naked to see the Bratva tattoo. The Arrow brand on his back must have been a bonus for her.

Looking back on their relationship though, the signs were there. She had once made a flippant reference to a twitter battle with a journalist in Russia, probably to test his reaction to mentioning Russia. She liked to serve him Russian vodka which he never questioned. He should have asked what made her think he would like Russian vodka. After their first time together she had pressed him lightly about the tattoo and the scars but he had passed that off as natural curiosity. He should have picked up on the fact that she was dead sure that he obtained the tattoo while on the island instead of the obvious conclusions of before or after the island. The biggest mistake he made was not trusting Thea. Thea had been stabbed in the back by Susan and had warned him. Even Quentin didn't like her. As the Green Arrow he trusted his team but as the Mayor he hadn't. That grave error would now cost him the mayorship.

He supposed he had been willing to overlook everything because he believed in redemption. Redemption had to be possible because he needed it. There were so many bad things he had done over the years. He started out his crusade by dropping bodies, something his best friend had never approved of. Even when Felicity started, she had an issue with some of his methods. She innately understood that there was a time when there was no choice and you had to do it but there were other times when you shouldn't and that was when he should hold back. It had taken him time to learn that.

Two of his biggest secrets were now laid bare to the world. There were numerous calls for his resignation and talk that SCPD would be arresting him soon. There was a small percentage of people that were hailing him a hero on social media. He knew Felicity had started that in case things really went downhill. Only she had the necessary knowledge to point out every good thing the Green Arrow had done and all the lives he had saved. She was very careful to separate the Green Arrow from The Hood. Roy had taken the fall for that and his sacrifice would not be in vain.

After he read the article he made one call to Susan. She answered on the third ring. He only had one question for her, why _?_ Her words rang in his ears.

 _It's my job Oliver. The people have a right to know who is representing them._

He disconnected the phone after that answer. There was no point in going any further. Their relationship was over. He could not look past a betrayal like this. His team wouldn't look past a betrayal like this. In his hour of need, his team hadn't failed him. They were there in his office with him searching for ways out of this mess, a mess he had gotten himself into when he started a relationship with Susan.

Thea was pacing in front of his desk like a caged tiger. "I going to kill her," Thea suddenly declared angrily. He could see the tension in his sister and he knew she was dying to release the angry energy inside of her.

Before Oliver could tell her not to, Felicity's hand grabbed Thea's right as she was passing the chair in front of his desk that Felicity was seated on.

"No, she doesn't deserve death. That's too lenient. We are going to destroy her," Felicity said fiercely looking up at Thea. His sister seemed extremely pleased with that response and the two women seemed to carry on a silent conversation.

Felicity's reaction to the article about him had scared him. He knew she had been flirting with the darkness. She was the first person in his office this morning with the paper. She promised him they would find a way to fix it and he believed her because her eyes had that determined fire in them that never failed her. She sat opposite him with the article in front of her and asked about the facts that Susan had written about Russia. It pained him to admit that they were right, that Susan knew things about his past that he had never shared with Felicity. He stated clearly that he had never told Susan anything. The only thing he did, was share his body with Susan and that had been a grand mistake.

Felicity poured over the article for things they could use to discredit it. She carefully examined the picture of him from Russia and he noted that she seemed fascinated with his hair style. She ignored the pictures of his bare chest and back that Susan had taken while he slept. He could only imagine how much pain that was causing her. While she read, Diggle arrived next followed by Quentin and Thea together.

As he was about to open his mouth to protest whatever it was that his sister and Felicity were planning, the two women that knew him best, turned to him in unison.

"Stay out of this," they both warned him at the same time.

Diggle, who had been sitting in the corner silently with Quentin spoke up, "Oliver leave them. You need to focus on fighting this thing in the open."

"We need to make a statement," Quentin said speaking for the first time since he came in. Both men had taken one look at Felicity and Thea and knew to keep their mouths shut. It was best to let Felicity and Thea work through their anger. It would only make matters worse if they added to it.

"I have no choice but to resign," Oliver concluded.

"NO!" both Thea and Felicity screamed at him. His sister and Thea communicated silently with each other before Felicity spoke.

"Oliver, you are the best Mayor this city has had in a long time. You can defend yourself which is important with our city's history. This isn't your fault. It's Susan. She's the one that couldn't see past the glory of posting this article versus the greater good of not telling anyone," Felicity insisted.

He tried to tell her that he had made things worse by getting involved with Susan but she cut him off.

"And don't blame yourself. Susan Williams was like a dog with a bone. Dating you only made it easier to access the information she needed for her story but I am 1000% sure if you had turned her down she would have just found another means to gain access to you," Felicity said confidently.

Thea snorted, "That woman would probably have paid someone to sleep with you and take photos of the tattoo."

"Felicity is right Oliver. Susan Williams was determined to get this story. If you want to blame yourself well then you have to blame all of us. We are your team and we didn't protect you enough. We should have checked the woman out thoroughly but we didn't," Diggle said.

He saw Felicity bow her head slightly and he knew what she was thinking. He would talk to her in private. She was fond of telling him that her decisions where her decisions well it was a two way street. The same applied to him. She didn't push him into any relationship he didn't want.

There was a knock on the door and everyone looked around tensely. Curtis was in the lair, Rene was home and Dinah was out looking for a job. It could be SCPD. Oliver stood and buttoned his jacket. If SCPD was there to arrest him then he was going to face it head on. Thea and Felicity both looked like they weren't going to let him go but there would be no choice if they had an arrest warrant. Diggle got up from his seat and answered the door. District Attorney Adrian Chase walked in.

"I suppose you approved the issue of an arrest warrant," Oliver stated. He had accepted his fate.

"Actually I didn't," Adrian replied much to everyone's surprise. "Unlike that reporter, I do have a bit of foresight and I believe in the greater good. This City won't benefit from your arrest. Who will step up to take you place?" Adrian asked before turning to Quentin, "No offense meant but the burdens Oliver's carries might be a bit much for you at this point in time."

"None taken," Quentin replied. It was true.

"My office is releasing a statement to say that we are starting an investigation into the allegations and no arrests will be made at this time. Our statement will be out at 2:00pm. I suggest you get yours out before that and you start working on rebutting everything that article claims," Adrian advised.

"Thank you," Oliver said sincerely offering Adrian his hand.

"You're a good man Oliver and I'm not in the practice of putting good people away," Adrian admitted giving Oliver's hand a firm shake.

As soon as Adrian left, Felicity started barking orders. She had sure taken a keen liking to being in charge. Within an hour, his team had worked together seamlessly to prepare a scathing response that not only denounced the article but attacked the reporter. Oliver didn't want to attack Susan like that but there was no overruling a combined Thea and Felicity. That was a force, no man stood a chance against. He had learnt an important lesson that day; always trust in your team. They had his back and they would help him protect his secrets.

* * *

 **An:** After that last scene with Susan and her informant it made me wonder if she works for the CIA or another organisation like ARGUS. Guggenheim stated that the episode named Checkmate was not about the organsiation Checkmate. Susan is confirmed to be in that episode. The whole thing is just very suspicious.


	2. Thea Strikes Back

**Chapter 2 – Thea Strikes Back**

 **An:** I do not own Arrow. I was persuaded to write a second chapter to this story.

* * *

Thea stepped up to the podium in the Mayor's press room. Several flashes went off blinding her. Her staff had informed her that all of the seats were taken and there were a significant amount of persons standing. The sharks only came out when they smelt blood. This time last week, when Oliver announced they had found funding to support the battered women's shelter in the city, a total of three reporters came, inclusive of the snake Susan, who was probably only there to get more info for her article on Oliver.

There were a ton of questions thrown at her about where Mayor Queen was? If he had resigned? If Deputy Mayor Lance was in charge? If she could confirm the accuracy of the article? Thea had to keep her features schooled. It would be a cold day in hell before she ever rat Oliver out. There were two reasons Oliver wasn't the one giving the press release. One, they did not know how much Susan really had on him. That picture was true and Oliver did not want to put on record denying it and become the typical lying politician. Secondly, this was Thea's and Felicity's first step in the destruction of Susan Williams.

Usually after a minute the flashes would stop but they were not dying down. Thea chose to focus on the entrance to the room off to the side instead of looking directly into the flashes. She spotted Felicity squeezing herself into the room. Not a single reporter next to her paid her any attention. She was there to live tweet the event. Thea had already picked out lines from her speech that Felicity was to tweet. The IT genius had created several bots to retweet her tweets and kick start the trending of their rebuttal.

Thea cleared her throat, signalling she was ready to speak. The room fell completely silent and thankfully the photographers stopped. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," Thea greeted. "I'm here to directly address a scandalous news article written by a person that calls herself a professional journalist." At lunch time they watched a live interview with Susan where she referred to herself as a professional. Thea strongly disagreed with that statement. Several reporters tried to ask questions again and she told them she would answer questions at the end of her statement.

"Let me make this abundantly clear, the Mayor is not resigning based on a speculative article that only contains the reporter's opinions on supposed evidence she collected," Thea said waving her copy of the article in front of them. She pointed to the picture of Oliver in Russia. "So Oliver Queen has a doppelganger in Russia?" Thea mocked. "I have one living in Beverly Hills, look it up. How often do we see the doppelganger of stars on TV? This picture does not prove anything," Thea stressed before moving on to the other pictures in the article.

"These pictures of Mayor's body," Thea said before pausing to consider another thought, "Who takes pictures of their boyfriend's tattoos and scars and posts if to for the world to see?" she asked rhetorically. "These scars are the physical reminder of the pain and suffering Mayor Queen endured on the island to survive. The picture of what that reporter called an arrow head, is actually the head of a spear that Mayor Queen had to hand craft from what little materials he could find on the island to hunt. It was a deserted island, he had to hunt for food to sustain himself. While hunting for sustenance on the island, he was hurt and he had to heat the head of his spare and cauterise the wound. That is what you see there. Each of these scars comes with a painful story."

Thea stopped to take a sip of water from the glass that her staff had placed on the podium. It allowed her to survey the room. Some of the reporters were swaying to their side but most still seemed skeptical. Felicity was frantically tweeting away. The small smile on the blonde's face told her they were winning the war on the social media front. She picked up the news article again and pointed to the picture of the Bratva tattoo.

"This controversial tattoo is from a celebratory night out on the town with Tommy Merlyn. Admittedly, the adjustment back was difficult for Mayor Queen and he relied sometimes on using alcohol as a coping mechanism. The media would remember that when Mr. Queen launched the Applied Sciences Division of Queen Consolidated he was a little bit tipsy. In one such state, he and Mr. Merlyn decided to get a tattoo to celebrate his return to Star City. They went to a tattoo parlour, I believe it was called Tattoo Palace, located on the corner of Elk and Maple avenues in the Glades. It was just down the road from Verdant. The resident artist was proud of his work and had many pictures of the tattoos he had done on display. Oliver chose the picture of that tattoo. Residents of the Glades who frequented this place would remember it," Thea insisted.

She paused to sip some water again. There were several hashtags from that paragraph that Felicity had to post and she needed to let her catch up. Thea was particularly proud of the one that called out residents of the Glades to remember The Tattoo Palace. She had been in it once with Roy shortly before the Undertaking. The Palace had two walls that were covered in pictures of work the artist had done from the top to the bottom. There must have been over 200 pictures posted. Thea was hoping that once she suggested it was on the wall, people would come out in agreement that it was on the wall. Both the Palace and the resident artist had not survived the earthquake so there was no one that could really dispute this argument.

"For further proof that the tattoo did not occur during his time away, we are releasing Mayor Queen's medical records when he returned from the island. It should be noted that the Doctor made no notes of any tattoos during the physical examination," Thea stated. The Doctor who examined Oliver when he returned was killed during Slade's attack. No one else had seen him shirtless the day he returned so there was no way they could dispute this fact.

"The last accusation that I want to address is that Mayor Queen is the Green arrow. Though in light of the twitter #Hero that has been trending since the article was published, some citizens consider it a compliment. The Mayor has a 24/7 security detail. The reporter cited instances where he ditched security to be with her but I can assure you his security team knew where he was. He most certainly was not running across rooftops at night. I think our chief of security would had heart failure if his charge was doing that. More importantly, Mayor Queen would have been outed as the Green Arrow long ago," she said confidently.

"Everything that report stated could have been explained if she asked for a comment from the Mayor's Office. Instead she sought glory and published this ridiculous article. It is a fact that she was laughed out of Coast City after writing an article about a man wearing a green ring. It seems to me like she has an obsession with the colour green. As a result of the reporter's actions, the Mayor's Office has stripped her of her press pass for this office. Those passes are given to media professionals, not persons that prostitute themselves for stories. The Mayor's office will also be investigating the possibility of bringing charges against the reporter for this libelous article that not only damages the Major's reputation but also brings this esteemed office into disrepute."

"I would like to take this opportunity to remind the citizens of Star City all that has been accomplished in the short time that Mayor Queen has been in office," she said. Her staff dulled the lights in the press room, and a presentation that she had them prepared on the Mayor's achievements was shown.

At the end of the presentation the lights came back on and Thea stepped back up the podium, "Thank you for attending. I will be taking questions now," Thea said. Several hands popped up to ask the first question.

Thea knew if they didn't take questions it would look bad. She sat down with Rene for two hours and he asked her every conceivable question that someone might ask. What he didn't think of Felicity did. The first question was the most obvious one.

"Where is Mayor Queen?" the first reporter that she chose asked.

Thea had to hold back a smile. "The Mayor is deeply hurt that someone he cared about, someone he was in a steady relationship with, could publish those vicious lies about him. It's taking him sometime to wrap his head around it," Thea said glancing at her watch, "It's only been six hours since he read the article at seven o'clock this morning. The end of a relationship is hard but a very public end can increase the pain, especially considering he's constantly reminded that she was dating him for a story. I suppose now he knows how all those girls he never called back felt," Thea quipped lightly at the end. She had to make it seem like they weren't afraid of the article. Injecting the humour into her answers would show that they had nothing to fear.

"What about the men in the picture that were confirmed as members of the Bratva?" the second reporter she chose asked.

Thea shrugged, "You will have to ask them or Mayor Queen's doppelganger," Thea responded. They knew no Bratva member in that picture, who was still alive, was going to admit it was Oliver Queen.

The third reporter asked about the Mayor's most recent trip to Russia. Thea was more than ready for that one. After the Russia question, she was asked about possible contracts being given to the Bratva. She had her staff compile a list of all the contracts that had been awarded under Mayor Queen's administration and she challenged the reporters to find a Bratva connection. Felicity gave her a signal when the DA released his press release and Thea pulled it up on her phone and spoke about it with the reporters.

She stood there taking questions until they had no more concerning the press release. She even fielded a few questions that asked about what the Mayor's next projects were. She was more than happy to talk about the good work they were doing. When there were no more relevant questions, Thea ended the question and answer session. She watched Felicity slip out of the room before the media could turn their attention to her.

She held a brief meeting with her staff before heading back to Oliver's office. She knew the entire team would be assembled there. Oliver should have been watching the press conference from his office. She hoped he was paying attention instead of pinning over Susan.

"Speedy you were amazing!" Oliver said as soon as Thea stepped back into his office. He was seated behind his desk. Felicity and Curtis were seated in front of the desk and Rory and Rene were off to the side with Diggle and Lyla.

"Ah, so you were paying attention," Thea commented snidely. She may love her brother very much and be very devoted to kicking Susan's ass but regardless of what Felicity told him, some of this was Oliver's fault.

Oliver frowned at the passive aggressive comment from his sister but before he could say anything Rene piped up.

"It really was incredible how you subtly laid into the reporter," Rene said in awe. "You were mean without being too mean."

"Thanks for the practice questions, it really did help," Thea admitted taking up a position leaning against the edge of Oliver's desk.

Rene practically gloated at the attention, "If you need anything else…"

"Stop right there!" Thea warned. She was not going on a date with him, ever.

"Your tweets are doing very well!" Felicity proudly said showing her the stats on her phone. "There are quite a few people showing off their tattoos from the Tattoo Palace and many people are confirming that the tattoo was on the wall."

"Great," Thea said beaming with pride because of how well her plan was working but she knew she couldn't bask in the moment for long. There was still a lot to do. "How did the fact finding mission go?" she asked Curtis and Rory.

"It went well," Curtis stated.

Felicity had been the one to point out that since Susan was not in her apartment and busy making the interview rounds for her article, it would be a great time to break in and find out what she had on Oliver. Her brother had of course been against that plan of action but the team basically steamrolled over his objection. It wasn't the first time that the team had chosen to follow Felicity instead of him and it wouldn't be the last if Oliver insisted on keeping his head stuck up his rear end. Diggle eventually got Oliver to cave and he gave them a detailed layout of the apartment and highlighted areas that could have what they were looking for.

Thea learned that Curtis hacked her laptop and left a Trojan virus on it to report back to them everything Susan did on the laptop and Rory found a key to a safety deposit box. Curtis did a quick check of her finances and found the key opened a box at Star City National Bank. The bank was going to have a visit from a group of vigilantes that night but it would not include Oliver. Thea had scheduled very public appearances for Oliver during the rest of the month. Felicity was too ensure that the Green Arrow was captured in action at the same time that Oliver was at his public functions. The first function up was a very public brother/sister dinner.


	3. The Dinner

**Chapter 3 – The Dinner**

 **An:** I do not own Arrow. Things don't go according to Thea's plan.

* * *

Thea smiled as Oliver's car pulled up in front of her apartment to collect her for dinner. He was actually on time. She jumped in the passenger side quickly and he wasted no time in pulling away from the curb. Thea was pleased with the response to their rebuttal. Her speech was the top trending article for the day and many people were talking about it. Numerous debates had been sparked about ethical journalism and how far a journalist should go to get a story. The focus had successfully shifted away from the investigation on Oliver, to Susan Williams. With Adrian working closely with the detectives in charge of the investigation, Thea was confident that they would weather this storm.

She glanced over at her brother to find him staring doggedly at the road. His mouth was drawn into a thin line and he seemed to be avoiding looking at her. His whole posture screamed that he had done something that she didn't like and the sudden sinking feeling in her gut was reinforcing this notion.

"What did you do?" she asked. She wasn't sure if she was ready for his answer.

He glanced at her briefly before turning back to the road, "What makes you think I did something?" Oliver asked.

"Because, and I'm going to quote Felicity here, 'You have guilty face on,' now spit it out," she demanded fiercely.

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke, "We aren't having dinner alone."

Thea frowned. She knew his security detail was following behind them and they would be present in the restaurant so technically they won't be alone but she knew he wasn't referring to that. The team was busy with planning the break in at the bank to review the contents of the safety deposit box without anyone knowing. Who on earth could he have invited to dinner with them unless he invited…, no he didn't!

"Ollie, please tell me you did not invite Susan Williams to dinner with us!" Thea asked angrily.

The silence from her brother was all the answer she needed. Of all the stupid naïve things he could have done.

"Why on earth would you do that!" Thea screeched.

"Thea our team is all about second chances and redemption," Oliver started but Thea cut him off right there.

"She had her second chance," Thea stated fiercely. "She had many opportunities but she never once tried to reach out to me. I wasn't her target. You were Ollie. I didn't matter to her because I couldn't give her the story she needed. She wasn't serious about your relationship. If she was, she would have tried. I'm your sister. We are family. She can't get around that. When you were with Laurel or Felicity, they always made every effort to be nice to me and help me. If I needed them they were there for me. When I needed a place to stay, Laurel opened her apartment to me. When I needed to get to Nanda Prabat without dying, Felicity handled all of the arrangements without blinking an eye!" Thea argued.

"You weren't exactly welcoming to Susan," Oliver pointed out.

"What, was I supposed to forget what she did to me because she was spreading her legs for you?" Thea retorted crudely. "Laurel told me she and Felicity didn't get off to a good start but they worked it out. Your girlfriend never tried to approach me," Thea said sullenly crossing her arms over her chest.

"We are meeting with Susan end of discussion," Oliver stated in that dictatorial tone of his.

Thea turned angrily to look out the window. Of all the idiotic things her brother could have done to mess up her plans, she hadn't even considered this as a possibility. She needed a plan. She was not letting that woman sink her claws into Oliver again. If he could invite someone then she was calling for backup.

* * *

The snake was already waiting for them at the restaurant when they arrived. She was dressed in a tight fitting black dress that showed off her ample cleavage. Her makeup was perfectly applied and her hair fell smoothly passed her shoulders. She gave Oliver a pleasant smile and hesitantly reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek. Thea had to suppress the urge to vomit. The last news headline they needed was Mayor's Chief of Staff caught retching in restaurant plant. Thea wondered what angle the woman was playing. Was she trying to get more solid proof from Oliver?

"Susan," Oliver greeted her, adjusting their positions to put a bit more distance between them. Thea was at least satisfied that he made the effort. Maybe there was still hope for him.

He looked encouragingly at Thea to say something but she was kept her mouth shut. Only crazy people talk to snakes. When he realised that Thea was deadest on being as rude as possible, he made his way over to the restaurant hostess.

"I'm afraid the Queen party increased by one," Oliver said guiltily to the hostess.

"Actually two," Thea stated with a smug look. "The last member of our party will be joining us in about fifteen minutes."

Oliver looked at her surprised. Thea ignored him. She followed after the hostess to a table for four and sat first. Oliver sat opposite her and Susan on her right. To head off any casual conversation that Oliver might want to start, Thea asked for the drinks menu right away. The menu was immediately brought to them and Thea ordered a glass of red wine, which she specifically stated she wanted filled to the brim. She had no problem paying for price of two glasses to get one full glass. Oliver's eyebrows practically rose to his hairline but Thea didn't say anything. She knew he suspected something.

As soon as the waitress was gone Susan started talking. Thea placed her clutch on the table and proceeded to empty the contents onto the table. Susan stopped talking and Oliver looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Thea what are you doing?" he asked horrified by her actions.

"Oh I'm looking for some medication," she said moving her phone aside to find some loose aspirin that had spilled out onto the table.

"Why are you sick?" Oliver asked with concern.

"I'm suddenly feeling a bit queasy. I distinctly remember telling you that when some people talk, I vomit," Thea said while she focused on the various items from her purse.

"Thea!" Oliver said absolutely horrified by his sister's behaviour.

Thea ignored him and instead looked outside to count the number of paparazzi that showed up. When she made the booking she asked the manager to call in anonymously to the papers and let them know where Mayor Queen was dining that night. She also asked for a table near the window where the paparazzi could get good pictures of them. She did not have to worry about being pushed to the back of the paper because dinner was boring. This was going to be front page news.

Their drinks arrived and Thea was thinking of a new way to stop Susan from talking when Oliver went tense. Thea smiled, that could only mean one thing; her back up had arrived. The room could be packed with people but her brother would always notice Felicity. She turned to see the blonde marching angrily to the table. She was wearing the same outfit she had on earlier in the day which meant she came straight form the Arrow Bunker. Felicity reached about a foot from the table when she tripped forward and crashed into the table. That sent Thea's untouched glass of red wine all over Susan. Felicity apologised profusely while the reporter screeched in horror and managed to stop just short of cursing Felicity as the flashes from the cameras outside where going off at a record rate. Susan excused herself from the table to use the bathroom and a few waitresses rushed to the table to clean up the mess. They stood from the table and moved to a private area out of sight of the paparazzi and the rest of the guests at the restaurant while the staff changed out their tablecloth.

"What the hell is this?" Oliver asked angrily. "You just ruined her dress purposely."

"What the hell is this?" Felicity repeated in disbelief. "This is us trying to stop you from doing something stupid again. I can't believe you agreed to meet with her."

"I'm not meeting with her alone. I have Thea," Oliver said pointing out the obvious.

"Yes your sister who I am sure has been dying to reach across the table and rip Susan's tongue out so she can't speak anymore. How can you blindside your sister like this?" Felicity hissed softly. If they weren't in a very public restaurant he would be on the receiving end of her loud voice.

Oliver opened his mouth to say something but Felicity turned to Thea instead, "So what did the Dragon Lady say?" Felicity asked her.

Thea shrugged, "Not much, I was too busy concentrating on keeping the contents of my stomach, in my stomach."

"Ok, that is enough Thea," Oliver said angrily pointing his index finger at her. "There is no need to be so rude and disrespectful. We were raised better than that. We came here to hear Susan out," Oliver said through gritted teeth.

"No you were going to hear Susan out. I thought I was coming to a nice dinner with my brother but said brother had different plans so I had to change mine. I'm here to take the bitch down a peg or two," Thea stated.

"I thought we talked about second chances," Oliver said frustrated with her.

Thea threw her hands up in the air, "No you said you wanted to give her a second chance and I said she had her second chance already."

"Ok, enough you two," Felicity said stopping the argument midstream. They were getting nowhere. "Thea, your brother needs to believe in redemption and there is nothing wrong with giving someone a second chance," she said to the younger Queen before turning to the older one, "People have to seek redemption for themselves Oliver. It's not for you to thrust it upon them. Just remember that second chances can be deadly."

They both fell quiet and the waitress approached them to re-seat them. They all tacked on smiles and dutifully returned back to the table where Susan was already seated. The wine had been replaced and Thea handed it to Felicity before turning to the waitress and asking for a glass of champagne.

"It's nice to see you again Felicity but I thought this was a family dinner?" Susan asked watching the wine in Felicity's hand warily.

"It is," Felicity said with a smile taking a sip of the wine.

"I'm having a hard time understanding why his ex-fiancée would be here?" Susan stated with a slight frown on her beautiful face.

"I'm having a hard time understanding why his ex-girlfriend is here?" Felicity fired back.

"We haven't officially broken up yet," Susan pointed out confidently.

At this point Oliver tried to intervene and remind Susan that they weren't together, that this dinner was about him maybe giving her a second chance but Felicity just went right ahead talking.

"I may be his ex-fiancée but I am one of his best friends and I always have his best interest at heart," Felicity started before being cut off by Susan.

"Even when you broke up with him," the woman snapped at her.

"Especially when I ended our engagement. He wasn't ready and the truth was I wasn't either. We both still had plenty of learning and growing to do, particularly me. When I get married, I want it to last for life and for that to happen, I have to be the type of partner that can do that," Felicity said but she wasn't looking at Susan. She was looking at Oliver and they both focused on each other in silent conversation.

Thea watched pleased with the interaction between her brother and friend. The photographers were also having a field day.

Susan narrowed her eyes, "You know, there is a theory out there that the Green Arrow works with a hacker," she said looking directly at Felicity.

Felicity turned back to Susan, "Really, must be someone on the dark web," she quipped lightly.

Susan turned towards Thea, "And Speedy is a girl with a petite frame much like you."

"Susan I thought we were going to discuss what happened today," Oliver said not liking where Susan was going with the conversation.

"We were but your sister has been very hostile and your jealous ex has appeared out of nowhere," Susan complained.

"Felicity was invited," Thea snapped. She really hated that woman.

"Susan, Thea and Felicity are very important to me. If you can't get along with them then I really don't see much hope for a possible relationship between us, even if I forgive you for what you did," Oliver said reasonably.

"It was my job Oliver. You knew I was a reporter and what I did for a living when we started seeing each other. You said I was good at my job and you liked that. You can't be upset that I was so good that I uncovered the truth about you and don't try to lie me. I know it was the truth," Susan said fiercely.

"You can't be that good at your job if you're breaking an ethical standard by being in a relationship with the man you report about!" Thea retorted.

"You are not the Queen I'm seeing Thea. This is between me and Oliver," Susan stated firmly.

"I may not be the one the warms your bed but you can't get Oliver without getting me as well and unlike my brother, I'm not so forgiving," Thea pointed out.

"You forgave her for breaking his heart," Susan said inclining her head in Felicity's direction.

Thea stopped and surveyed Felicity closely. She had never even thought to be angry with Felicity when they broke up. She looked back at Susan, "No I didn't because even though they broke up, it's like Felicity said, she will always put Oliver's best interests first. She has been there when either of us needed her. She's helped us when we were down. You only kicked both me and my brother down. And because I have no faith in your integrity as a journalist, if you thought you could record this conversation and twist it to say Oliver admitted that your preposterous accusation were true, you'll find your recorder isn't working properly," Thea gloated. Felicity had made sure to walk with some type of electronic blocker to prevent that.

"I don't need a recorder, I have proof. Proof that you won't be able to spin into something else," Susan said standing up. "Oliver I tried to salvage our relationship but obviously with your sister in the picture, it will never work. Goodbye Oliver," Susan said before walking away.

Felicity reached to her left and linked hands with Oliver, "No guilt parties. She did not want a second chance. She wanted a story you could not give her," she said to comfort him.

Oliver sighed. A part of him wanted to ask her if she wanted a second chance but it was not the right time or the right place. He would wait a few days and let things blow over first before he sat down with her and had an adult conversation about what happened between then and where they were going to go from there.

"Did you get her proof?" Thea asked Felicity.

Felicity gave her a brilliant smile, "Mission complete. We swapped it out for your gift to her," Felicity explained.

"Great," Thea said looking down at the untouched menu on their table. "Now that the trash is gone, let's eat."

* * *

Early the next day Susan was the second customer to enter the bank's doors. She went straight to the area assigned to the safety deposit customers and requested to get access to her box. She went through the usual process of retrieving her box and was eventually left alone in the private room to review its contents. She was regretting not publishing everything. She had decided to take it easy on Oliver because of her feelings for him. She had grown to care about him. That had been a mistake. She lifted the lid to her box expecting to see the manila folder labelled Oliver Queen and the accompanying memory stick with further information but was instead met with a picture of Oliver and Felicity staring into each other eyes. She recognised the picture as one before they broke up. Thea was rubbing it in. They had stolen her proof from right under her nose. She called for the bank manager immediately but they couldn't find any evidence of tampering with the box. She laughed bitterly. Her phone pinged with a message from an undisclosed number. She opened it up.

 _Don't ever mess with us again!_

The text disappeared from her screen as soon as it came. Susan's lips curled in disgust. She didn't care how long it would take but she would prove she was right. She would wait for the day that Thea Queen would mess up again and then she would pounce.


End file.
